Official: Men are not very good at DIY

For some, it might be the long-awaited perfect excuse for never quite getting round to that household repair job that’s been waiting and waiting...

A survey says that men are actually not very good at all at DIY.

The poll shows most feel incapable of changing a car wheel, while only half feel confident enough to wire a plug and just one in five would have a bash at fixing a dripping tap.

The survey for men’s clothing retailer Jacamo showed 60 per cent of men would feel the need to call in a plumber to unblock a toilet, and only a third would have a go at putting together flat-pack furniture.

The survey also found that the majority of men could not change the oil in their car. Almost half though felt they could master baking a cake.

Jenni Bamford from Jacamo said: ‘It’s interesting to see how skills from previous generations had fallen by the way-side.

‘In general we do seem to be less attracted to tasks that involve getting our hands dirty and more reliant on professional garages for anything to do with our cars and tradesmen for smaller jobs around the home.

‘On the plus side there does seem to be a more even distribution of domestic duties within the home with more men being able to work everyday appliances such as washing machines, hoovers and dish-washers, which is something many of their grandfather’s would never have contemplated.’

But on the plus side, there were some encouraging results for the male of the species. Nine in ten of those surveyed claimed they were good barbecue cooks and an impressive 98 per cent of married men knew the date of their wedding anniversary.